LISC Leadership

Maurice A. Jones, President & CEO

With deep experience in both the public and private sectors, Maurice A. Jones took the helm as LISC's fourth president & CEO in September 2016. Immediately prior to joining LISC, he served as the secretary of commerce for the Commonwealth of Virginia, where he managed 13 state agencies focused on the economic needs in his native state. He previously served as deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) overseeing operations for the agency and its 8,900 staff members. Prior to that he was commissioner of Virginia’s Department of Social Services and deputy chief of staff to former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner.

Trained as an attorney, Maurice worked during the Clinton Administration on legal, policy and program issues at the Treasury Department, where he also helped manage a then-new initiative called the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) fund—a federal program that has grown to be a critical supporter of nonprofits that leverage its capital to bolster their communities. In the private sector, Maurice was the general manager of The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk and went on to become president and publisher of its parent company. He also worked for a Richmond law firm and a private philanthropy investing in community-based efforts to benefit children in Washington, D.C.

Raised by his grandparents in a rural southern Virginia community where his family had a tobacco and corn farm, Jones was awarded a full merit scholarship to Hampden-Sydney College, a small liberal arts school. In 1986, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and was selected as a Rhodes scholar. At Oxford University, he earned a master’s degree in international relations. In 1992, he graduated from the University of Virginia Law School. In the spring of 2017, Maurice was appointed to the University of Virginia Board of Visitors.

Michael Hearne, Executive Vice President & CFO

Michael Hearne is Executive Vice President and CFO. He joined LISC in 2014 after a distinguished career as an entrepreneur and lending expert with over 25 years of experience in nonprofit, for-profit and government financial management. Most recently, he was managing director of M&H Properties in Annapolis, where he bought, sold, and launched a wide range of commercial enterprises. He was also president of Lafayette Federal Credit Union, which he expanded beyond its base of federal government employees to more broadly serve Washington, D.C. residents. He also co-founded Business DataSource, a financial consulting firm.

Hearne’s background encompasses a broad range of relevant experience, from loan syndication and securitization to navigating a complex array of federal regulations. He developed risk management models based on loans made by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Small Business Administration (SBA). He also created marketing databases related to the Community Reinvestment Act and more generally for bank community development investments.

In addition to his private-sector efforts, Hearne has also worked for the SBA as director of the Office of Planning and Budget, overseeing the $750 million agency’s finances, including analysis of its $30 billion loan portfolio, and he served his country as a naval officer during the Persian Gulf War.

Denise Scott, Executive Vice President for Programs

Denise Scott is Executive Vice President in charge of LISC’s national and local programs. With three decades of experience in community development, Ms. Scott leads LISC’s neighborhood investment efforts in 30 cities and rural areas in 39 states. She previously managed LISC’s flagship program in New York City, focusing on affordable housing, commercial corridors, education, health, and jobs in some of the city’s toughest neighborhoods.